Downing does it again for Wildcats; scores twice in victory over River Hawks

Saturday

Dec 1, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By JOHN DOYLEjdoyle@fosters.com

DURHAM — Something in the rarefied air of Colorado did Grayson Downing some good. He didn’t miss a step returning to sea level.

Fresh off his first career hat trick last week at Denver, Downing scored twice to lead the University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team to a 5-2 win over UMass-Lowell on Friday night before a crowd of 5,725 at the Whittemore Center.

“It’s a lot easier to breathe, that’s for sure,” said Downing. “Coming back, it’s kind of nice. And then, playing at home, obviously, it’s a lot nicer. Playing in front of our fans, it was awesome to get the fans back and give them a good game. It was a lot of fun tonight.”

The second-ranked Wildcats improved to 10-1-2 overall, 7-1-1 in Hockey East, and remained unbeaten (6-0-1) in their last seven games. It was UNH’s second win of the season over Lowell, which fell to 4-6-1, 2-5-1 in the league.

Friday’s win, coupled with Boston University’s 4-2 win over top-ranked Boston College, means the Wildcats will likely be the No. 1 team in the country with a win over the River Hawks when the two teams meet again tonight in Lowell, Mass.

UNH goalie Casey DeSmith finished with 34 saves, including a number of big ones in the third period as the River Hawks chipped away at the Wildcats’ lead.

“It’s a good thing to get that bad taste out of your mouth one game back,” said DeSmith, who was pulled midway through the first period against Denver with UNH trailing 3-0. “I honestly put it out of my mind as soon as it happened. Pucks are going to go in sometimes, and unfortunately a few too many went in last weekend. (I’m) glad I could get back on track tonight.”

Picking up right where he left off after scoring three goals in the Wildcats’ 6-4 win at Denver on Saturday, Downing got UNH on the board 56 seconds into a Lowell power play at 9:43 into the game. Kevin Goumas found Downing at the blue line for a breakaway, and Downing beat Lowell goalie Doug Carr for his sixth of the season.

It was the Wildcats’ fourth shorthanded goal of the season, compared with just two power-play goals allowed. The UNH penalty kill was ranked second in the nation behind Dartmouth going into the weekend.

Downing struck again at 16:49 of the middle frame, staking the Wildcats to a 4-0 lead and making it look like another blowout of the River Hawks was imminent. Downing, left all alone in front of the net, took a pass from Austin Block from behind the net and stuffed it into the goal.

“I could have closed my eyes on that second one,” Downing said. “Austin made an unbelievable pass. He had three guys all over him. I just happened to be there for him.”

It was all the insurance the Wildcats needed, and they needed most of it. Lowell cut UNH’s lead in half with a goal by Shayne Thompson at 19:58 of the second period to make it 4-1 and one from Michael Colantone at 7:10 of the third to make it 4-2.

“It wasn’t pretty there,” Umile said. “We kind of almost let them back into the game. But I thought we came out and played a better third period. (A) couple of goals we gave up, I didn’t think we were playing very smart at that point... But we’ll take the win.”

Jeff Silengo and Nick Sorkin each recorded a pair of assists for the Wildcats.

After UNH took a 1-0 after one period, the Wildcats went up 2-0 at 2:16 of the second period on John Henrion’s fourth goal of the season. Goumas got in on the act at 15:18, scoring on the Wildcats’ second power play of the evening.

“It’s not good enough against the No. 2 team in the country,” Lowell coach Norm Bazin said. “They’re finishing on their chances and we’re obviously pushing. And it just wasn’t going in (for us), that’s for sure.”

Carr (21 saves) was pulled after two periods and replaced by Connor Hellebuyck, who made eight saves in the third period.

Block put the exclamation point on the win when he scored a fabulous goal at 17:15 of the final frame, following his own rebound with a shot from the right wing into the far side of the net, top-shelf over Hellebuyck’s left shoulder. That gave UNH a 5-2 lead and sent most of the crowd heading to the exits.

The game was undeniably testy with a number of scrums, including two big ones in the game’s final minute. A total of 13 penalties were handed out in the final frame, including six in the final minute.

“There was a lot of stuff going on,” Umile said. “But hey, the guys are battling. It went both ways.”